The Iridescent Huntress
by Masked Demise
Summary: There are several Vastaya who have joined the League, most notably Xayah, Rakan and Ahri, but let's look into this champion's story. May I present Rhian, the Iridescent Huntress.
1. Mysofe

**Hello, Masked Demise here with another new story… Sorry I always do this to you guys. I have more plans with this one than I've had in a while and well… I can't get the idea out of my head and it's been a few days. I wrote all of this without any real struggles or blocks, and I actually got the idea when I was looking at stuff for Daybreak. It was a piece that Riot did when Xayah and Rakan came out, with a few Vastaya in trees, looking down at an army about to fight. On the right side is a Vastayan whose type we haven't really been told about, so I decided on this. I hope you all enjoy.**

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I sit at the edge of the water, letting it lap at my toes. In the distance, there are fisherman in reed boats, their hooks bob in the water, sending out circles of motion, spreading ever away from their source. Deep under the water, I see a small form tug on the line. The fisherman peers over the edge of his boat and scowls in the water. Not a fish, but a small child, yanks on the line again before swimming off, leaving bubbles of air climbing up, his giggles due to the mischief he has caused. The fisherman's mouth parts in what I can only assume to be a sigh, then he sits back down in his tiny, delicate boat.

Near me, along the shore, women and men alike are dressed in furs, thin, but covering most of the skin on their bodies, though it leaves their backs bare, letting thin, iridescent wings lay flat against their back. A few of them have spears, and they spread their wings, letting them flap, faster than eyes can see, lifting them up, higher and higher into the air. They are the hunters of my people, the Vastayan tribe called Strig.

The thing you can liken us to the most would probably be dragonflies. We don't have eyes like theirs, though our eyesight is enhanced. Our wings are just as delicate as theirs, and just as beautiful as well. Despite our beauty, we are also incredibly delicate, though magic has gifted us with the ability to entrance our prey and any enemies that would harm us. Our children are safe, they live deep under the water of the lake that we have claimed as ours. Gills let them breathe, and once they come of age, they emerge from the water. We all have emerged from the water.

Once we've emerged, we learn to hunt, to sew, to cook, to fight even in some cases. I'm a-

"Rhian!" a voice snaps, bringing me out of my daze. A woman, slightly older than myself stands over me, tapping a foot slowly against the ground. Long, black hair reaches down to the midpoint of her back, and violet eyes stare into me. Her chocolate-colored skin blends the look together, making her look absolutely beautiful. She grins, playfully as she stares down at me. She's my _Alikhan_ , my mentor, Heliyah. "Daydreaming again, were you?" she teases. "I've been yelling your name at you for a while now."

I slowly stand up, rubbing the back of my head. "Sorry," I apologize. "Got a bit lost in thought I guess," I admit. "What was it you needed?"

She reaches forward and takes my hand, pulling me towards the forest. The deep tan of my skin is odd against the rich color of her skin, though she doesn't seem to notice. "You promised you'd hunt with me today. You wouldn't want to break your promise, now would you?" she taunts.

Heliyah means no harm, I know due to the time I've spent with her under her wing (sometimes literally). "I wouldn't, I enjoy hunting with you. Let me just go get my spear."

"No need," she tosses something through the air and I instinctively catch the object, my spear. The tip is made of bone, honed to a point, sharp enough to kill. It's attached to a long piece of wood that has been carved into the shaft of a spear, made smooth as to not be uncomfortable in my grip.

I run my hand along it before looking at her curiously, "If you had mine, where's your spear, Heliyah? I thought we were hunting _together_ , not you watching me."

She turned her violet eyes up towards the sky and whistled innocently. "Hunting with you doesn't mean I have to be hunting. It simply means you're hunting and I'm with you."

"You just made that up!" I cry in protest as I jump towards her, trying to grab her to drag her to our house to get her spear.

The older Strigian has other plans however, and she jumps up, letting her ambery wings catch the air and she flies up into the air and towards the thicker part of the forest.

I sigh and shake my head, spreading my smaller wings, which had just recently grown large enough to let me fly. They turned the ground behind me a pale green, blue, and violet behind me as I lifted myself up into the air. Far ahead, I could hear the bell-like laughter of Heliyah as she tried to escape, though her giggles gave away the direction she was headed in.

Eventually, I caught up with her, but it was beyond the point where I should drag her to her house. I sigh and hug her instead after leaning my spear against a tree. "Heliyah why do you do this to me?"

"Who else would?"

"No one," I admit, and she returns the hug.

We sit like that for a moment before she begins to play with my hair, which is short, but black like hers. "You should grow this out," she comments.

"I'd rather not, it's how I like it, and it stays out of the way while we hunt." I tell her as I go back for my spear, holding it carefully in one hand.

"It'd look pretty though, it'd help with your magic," she insists as we start walking.

"Not if it gets in my face," I deadpan. "Let's be quiet now though so we don't scare any prey, okay Heliyah? You're the one who taught me to be quiet."

She nods, but that playful grin of hers remained. The two of us silently stalk through the forest, looking for something worthy of my spear. We run into some smaller prey, like rabbits, but they frighten and escape us before I can prevent them from escaping. We are about to enter a clearing when I spot a flash of brown. Heliyah doesn't notice it though, and goes to keep moving, but I throw my free hand in front of her to stop her. She seems confused, so I point into the clearing and finally get a good look for myself of what exactly I have found.

In the clearing is a buck, eating calmly from a bush at it's eye level. As it chews, it looks around, checking for danger. It's beautiful, and elegant, but it's also food. I know that it was what I should bring back for the tribe today. I work my way around the clearing, so that the wind blows in my favor, sending any scent of mine away from the deer as I walk silently into the open.

All goes well until I'm right behind it, my spear raised and poised to strike. Suddenly, it's head jerks towards me and it moves to run. In an instant, I flash my wings out, angling them towards the sun as I have practiced since they've grown in. Light filters through them, creating beautiful, dancing patterns along the ground in shades of blue, green, and purple. The buck sees the shimmering colors and becomes captivated, losing its fear of me that it previously had. I know far too well that it will only last for a moment though, so as soon as it's close enough I stab my spear through its hide swiftly and perform my job as a hunter.

Its lifeless body lies on the ground and I look to Heliyah for approval. My _Alikhan_ nods and I hand her my spear before I dashed forward to grab my prey. I grab its antlers and begin slowly dragging it in the direction of the camp. My wings couldn't carry me and the buck, due to its weight. We, the Strig were capable of flight, but it was impossible to carry something that weighed too much with us.

"This will keep us fed for a while, huh?" I ask Heliyah as I continue pulling it along. The sound it makes is a rough scraping at the grass, though there isn't much I could do to help it. It's not like I could've carried much else back though.

"It will. You have a good eye, and your magic isn't anything to laugh at either. You're an excellent hunter already, Rhian, and it's only been a few months since you emerged from the lake." She uses my spear as a walking stick as she follows behind me. It was tradition for the hunter to carry their own prey back to the camp, and the two of us, despite our closeness wouldn't break that. But to build up the strength needed to bring this back… I'll leave it at lugging countless weapons around for the rest of our tribe wasn't fun.

"Thank you," I murmur. "I learned from you after all, Heliyah." My wings shift at my back as I accept her compliment. I know I learned faster than the rest of the hatchlings, even when I lived underwater, but hunting felt natural to me. It was nice to be complimented though.

From there on, the two of us walked in silence until we reached the camp, and I smiled as I took it in. There were a few mud houses on the ground near the lake, mostly mothers who were preparing for the trip to the lake with their eggs. The eggs were safe above the water for a few days, but the sooner they were in the water, the better. We celebrate mothers here, and they get honored houses near the lake, but we don't celebrate our _own_ mothers. I had no idea who my mother was, though all of them were nice and kind.

A bit further from the water, just inside the treeline rest some houses on the ground made of grasses and reeds. Most of the older Strig live there, though our leader lives with the rest of us, up in the trees. There is a sloped bridge that we have made for the elders to join us, though the houses are mostly for the younger Strig, hunters, and the males. The houses are built into the trees, and there's room at the entrances for us to fly in, if need be. If we don't have to though, there are paths that we have made of wood and rope. _Alikhan_ and their apprentices live together, so after I leave the deer with one of the mothers, so they can prepare the food for the rest of the tribe, Heliyah and I head to our house.

We don't see the point in flying to our shared house so the two of us walk back. On the way there, we, unfortunately, run into the male who has been trying to court Heliyah, Evert. He's showy, like a bird, with violet and blue wings and brown eyes. He has orangish hair that sticks out amongst the green of the forest, which makes him a poor hunter, though he is instead a warrior, trained to fight and protect the members of our tribe. He is strong due to this, though Heliyah isn't exactly enthralled by his advances. She wants to be a hunter until she's old and unable to fly, not a mother.

"Yes, Evert?" she acknowledges his presence but is not at all enthused by it. She holds back a scowl, but the way she holds herself shows it far too well.

The other Strig is oblivious to this, however. Instead, he preens under her attention and his wings flutter a bit. "I was wondering if this beautiful _Brienala_ would accompany me tonight, when we visit the lake isle when one of the new mothers leaves her eggs with the other children," he gave her a soft smile, one full of charm and invitation. Most of the other women would have fallen for him right then and there.

Heliyah, however, just laughed, "I've had a long day, hunting with my apprentice. I was just about to head home and rest, so if you'd excuse me," she grabs me by the wrist and huffs, pushing past him and towards our treehouse.

I understand why she doesn't want to become a mother, as I too enjoy hunting far too much just to give it up, but I don't understand why she doesn't just tell him such. That's for her to discuss with him though, so I take my spear from her and begin cleaning and polishing it. I consider asking why she acts like this to him, but decide its in my best interest to just not speak while she's in a bad mood.

Heliyah lets out a quiet huff, before throwing herself at her cot, not much more than reeds, and screaming into them. I don't question her, even as she rolls around on it for a moment, then gives up and just buries her face in it.

Just as I finish cleaning the tip of my spear, she quietly asks, "Would you like to go to the isle? I'm not going, but I won't stop you. And before you say you'll stay to keep me company, I want you to _actually_ do what you want."

I pause, as I was about to do just that. I shake my head as I consider my options, then reply. "I'll get us some food, then I'll watch the moon. While it is fun to visit the isle, it still feels like I just left it when I emerged."

She accepts my answer with a grunt as she continues to lie there, so I get up and set about it. Someone else's catch from earlier has already been cooked by the mothers and made into a large stew. I carefully take two bowlfulls, and head back. The two of us eat, and through the meal, my _Alikhan_ slowly recovers from her encounter with Evert. She ends up with one of the bowls on her head (she had to go clean herself afterwards) and proclaiming herself the new ruler of the Strig.

When I finish, despite her more positive mood, I do keep my word to go out instead of just hanging around with her. I head back to the shore and stare up at the water, staying at my reflection that is illuminated by moonlight. Leafy green eyes look back at me and twinkle in the water, and my cut hair rests just above my shoulders. After a moment, I sigh before laying down and just watching the night sky that had risen at some point while we were eating.

As I lay there, I smile as I hear the festivities at the isle. Singing, dancing, even the quiet buzzing of wings as the people celebrate new life with the rising of the moon. We are a happy people, and we are content. I just hope it will always remain this way.

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 **Just a note, Brienella, is a compliment, basically meaning beautiful. I hope you all enjoyed and I will hopefully have another chapter soon. Please review to let me know what you think.**

 **Masked Demise signing off.**


	2. Hrrick

**Hello there, I'm back. Sorry for the delay, but school is exhausting, not to mention that I have a concert for band coming up rapidly, which severely cuts away at my free time. Anyways, here's the next chapter. I do have a song I'd actually recommend listening to while reading this. It's called "I Don't Want to Say Goodbye" from pokemon mystery dungeon explorers of sky. I'll put a marker in for when to start listening, but it's not mandatory, I just thought it worked well. Anyways, I'll let you all read now.**

Despite the previous night's festivities, the next day, everyone in the village was back to a regular routine. We probably would have reveled longer under normal circumstances, but with food beginning to run low already, we couldn't afford to celebrate the new children for long. My deer might have done something to help, but we were trying to survive a famine, and with the fact that our food was communal, it meant we needed to almost constantly be out hunting.

So, Heliyah and I went out early the next morning, before the sun had even crested over the trees, both of us with our spears in hand. We planned to come back for a meal after we caught something, but, of course that required catching something.

Heliyah and I split up earlier, planning to regroup later. She believed that it would make it easier to hunt, but I really didn't mind the two of us hunting together as we had yesterday. Having her with me just makes me happy, but she's my _Alikhan_ , so I do as she wishes. Currently, I'm stalking a rabbit that hadn't noticed me quite yet. It nibbles at a large, green tuft of grass in front of it, nose twitching as I creep closer and closer to it. Just before it can run, I send my spear towards it, the tip of it seeking blood as it pierces easily through the rabbit's neck. I quickly claim my prey and head out to find my _Alikhan_.

I slowly move through the trees, feeling the cool grass beneath my feet as my gaze flits about, looking for Heliyah. Colors of all sorts speckle the trees as I spot birds that have finally begun their song for the day, with twittering and sharp chirps, creating a melody that fills the air, a magic of their own. I consider flying up to find her more easily, but the colors of my wings would probably scare away any prey that weren't seeing them with sunlight reflected on them, and it was still a little too early for us to be able to use our magic, so I continued walking, my wings fluttering a bit against my back.

As I walk, I begin to recall a story that was constantly told among the children, of the ancient Strig _Vyshnyu_. I don't know entirely why they come to mind, but I let my mind wander, recalling everything I've been told of them.

They were fierce, but cunning, and incredibly strong. They carried two spears and used them to protect the people from any threat, both outside and inside. Their wings weren't necessary to call upon their magic, they were able to activate it at will, unlike our current warriors. A _Vyshnyu_ hadn't been born in a long time, though people kept hoping that one would, and that they'd be the one to protect us and allow us to survive. The most common feature had been their multicolored wings and, while many of us had them now, none were able to call forth magic at will, not even myself. Personally, I believe that Heliyah would be a _Vyshnyu_ if she had been born with multicolored wings. She was just that strong.

As my thoughts went to her, I realize that in my daydreaming, I had stopped walking and had curled up at the base of a tree. Quickly, I get up and begin searching for my _Alikhan_ once more.

It's still a while until I find her, hiding behind a bush, only noticeable due to the pale fur of her clothing. Her spear, with a black, stone tip rests almost leisurely at her side as she scans the area. She spots a squirrel, and sends her spear flying almost immediately. It's unwavering in it's flight and the squirrel drops to the ground. She quickly moves to retrieve it, and in doing so, reveals a small pile of other small prey that she has managed to catch. As she moves to return to her spot, she finally notices me.

"Took you long enough," she teases, her nose scrunching up slightly as she grins. "I had too much time on my hands so I caught all of this."

I roll my eyes. "And _you're_ going to have to carry it all back to camp."

She seems to consider this, then simply shrugs. "At least we have food to eat." She smiles and walks over to her small pile. "I know I did promise we'd head back after both catching something though, so let's do that." She gathers up all of her hunt's bounty while I watch quietly. I end up having to carry both of our spears, as well as my rabbit, but I don't complain as we walk back to camp in a comfortable silence, simply listening to the world around us.

***The trees sway gently in the breeze, causing birds to scatter whenever one of their branches shook a bit too much for their liking. The sun had risen higher warming our skin as we moved, but it is pleasant, and definitely not overwhelmingly warm. It would be nice to sunbathe in later on, with Heliyah while she tried to avoid another run in with Evert. The thought amused me a bit, but due to my distraction, I didn't notice the giant, tawny colored _thing_ that swooped down and struck Taliyah's head with it's talons until I heard the shriek that it made as it flew into the blue of the sky.

My _Alikhan_ cried out in pain, dropping her prey in the process. With the sun higher in the sky, she could use her magic, as could I. So the two of us angled our wings, trying to fend off the creature or at least charm it to leave us alone while we ran. But no matter how I adjusted my wings, the light wouldn't catch properly in them to activate the wild magic that flowed within my blood. Heliyah seemed to be unable to do anything either as she wildly took to the sky after a brief moment, blood droplets left behind on the ground from the wound that our foe had left on her.

"Heliyah!" I cried out as I dropped the rabbit and flew up after her. I wanted to help her as she fled, so I raised both of our spears as I flew towards the creature. It noticed me and suddenly dived, spiraling downwards until just before it hit the ground, dodging my attack. It suddenly spread its wings and flew up, striking Heliyah's wings with it's talons as she tried to escape. She let out a cry of terror as she plummeted, down, down, down to the ground.

I couldn't watch as I heard the thud as she hit the ground. Instead, I looked at the creature that had attacked her and let out a blood curdling shriek as I pushed forward, tears streaming from my eyes. The bird moved to strike me down too, but I twisted in the air, preventing it access to my wings. With my change it instead jabbed one of my arms with a beak. I let out a shriek, but refused to let the pain stop me. I stabbed outwards with my bone tipped spear, and it danced away in the air. But that attack was just a feint. I shoved Heliyah's pitch black spear forward and stabbed the bird through the chest.

It let out a cry of pain that mirrored my own as I ripped the spear out of it and it dropped down to the ground. I nearly let myself drop too, but barely managed to keep myself composed as I slowly lowered myself to the ground. I found the bird which had attacked us to be a giant horned owl, and it had attacked most likely due to the sheer amount of prey and how close we were to it's nest, which I located in a tree we had been passing. I couldn't, I refused to look at the body of my _Alikhan_ , but my eyes wandered.

Her hair was tousled from the wind that had surrounded her as she fell, but was unable to catch her as she fell. Her violet eyes were glazed over, staring ever up into the beautiful blue sky. Her amber wings had giant tears through them, evidence of the claws that had stolen her flight from her. Her limbs lay in awkward angles, jutting out in unnatural angles. Droplets of red covered her beautiful, dark skin, and I couldn't look away from her, no matter how much I wanted to.

After a moment of standing there, unable to do more than just stare, I finally let out a wail and let myself collapse to the ground, pain twisting my heart because I had been unable to save her. Pain that our magic had failed us when we needed it most.***

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The leader had the owl's body burned at my request, but despite his insistence to give him Heliyah's spear, I refused. It was all I had left of her at this point, and it's all I would have now that she was gone, taken from me in the blink of an eye.

He hadn't appointed a new _Alikhan_ to me yet, and I wasn't entirely certain I wanted one. I lay curled up on my cot, hugging Heliyah's black-tipped spear to me by the shaft. My own bone spear rest near the entrance, but it hadn't moved at all in the week that I have trapped myself in the house I had shared with my _Alikhan_.

I heard a knock at the entrance, but I didn't say anything. The person entered anyways, as I soon felt a hand against my back.

I turned my head a bit Evert. He had visited every day since Heliyah's death, and I could still see the pain in his eyes at her loss. He was the only other person who truly missed her the way I did. He believed he should've gone with us to protect her, but I know very well that there was nothing that he could've done to prevent the owl from doing what it had done. She was gone, but magic was the reason why. It was the reason for everything.

"I'm going to go out for now I suppose," he announced, barely a whisper. After realizing that yet again I wouldn't respond, he continued. "Some of the mothers are wondering when you'll go hunting again."

He got up, but didn't leave as he said he would, instead he continued. "I," he started, then paused for a moment before continuing. "I know we both loved her, though I don't think that she would've of wanted the two of us to mope. I'm sure she'd be dragging you around right now if she saw you. She didn't really like me, I know, but you two were practically siblings."

I let out a small huff as I pressed my face back into the cot, much to his disappointment. "I'll leave you alone now, but know that I hope that soon you'll be able to leave here again and return to hunting. With our magic being finicky it's still difficult for us to catch food, we really need you, Rhian."

With that, I heard a few soft footsteps before the humming of wings as he left. I hugged the spear closer to myself, running my hands along the smooth portion where my _Alikhan_ 's hands had once rested. I whimpered, closing my eyes.

Magic was the foundation of our tribe. It allowed us to hunt, to fight, to flee. Yet, sometimes it would fail us. Heliyah's failure hadn't been the first; it was why there was somewhat of a famine in the first place. Sometimes, no matter what we tried, our magic just wouldn't activate. It had been fine until now, since it was just when we were hunting, but now I knew for certain that something was wrong.

I felt deep inside myself that the magic situation most likely wouldn't improve no matter how long we tried to wait it out. Something had to be done, though, who would do it? If I brought this up to our leader, he might send out a group of guards, which would work, but bringing it up would require me to leave the house. The house where her scent was already fading, her laughter and happiness too.

As I continued to lay there though, I began to realize that if I didn't bring this up, this could happen to another apprentice, one of the children after they emerged from the water, someone else's _Alikhan_. The knowledge made me shake a bit, but I slowly got up, using Heliyah's spear to steady myself as I got up.

Heading to the leader's hut, I took her spear, not wanting to leave it to be snatched up to be burned with the rest of her belongings. They might send them to her in the afterlife, but this is the piece of her I will take. With that, I walked to the doorway and flew to the leader's hut.

 **Well, that's that. I hope you all enjoyed, and yes, I do realize that I changed tense. That was on purpose, due to reasons I'll most likely explain later. It doesn't entirely feel right to explain just yet, so I'll leave everyone hanging on that. Well, see you all next time.**

 **Masked Demise signing off.**


	3. Lyasno

_**Hello. Masked Demise here again. Sorry this chapter is so short, but I feel like I have a good ending point, and I needed to get this part out of the way. It is important (to me at least) and I needed to just… get it off my back. Also, thank you guest for your reviews! I will admit I was laughing while I read them cause I was very confused as how my character could be seen as male. For clarification, Rhian's name is pronounced 'Reeann.' Anyways, enjoy the chapter and I'll hopefully have more for you next time!**_

The leader was pleased to see me out of the house to say the least, not so much to see the spear that I still had in my possession. It was Heliyah's right to have it burned with her as she was sent up into the sky to fly for all eternity, but I still kept it. I simply offered him a sad smile as I landed in the hut, a small thump sounding when I landed.

"It's good to see you again, Rhian," he declared, a hint of sadness in his voice. His Alikhan had passed a few months ago, but not due to the same reasons as mine. His had grown old, grown past the point of being able to fly. Heliyah would never reach that point. Her life was stolen away from her far too soon.

"And it is a pleasure to see you again, honored leader," I murmured as I dipped my head, eyes towards the ground. I offered him the reverence he deserved as our leader before I slowly looked up to meet him in the eyes. "May I speak?"

He looked me over slowly, then gave a nod. "Go ahead, young huntress." His obsidian black wings that were speckled with red fluttered for a moment, making a small humming noise before they settled down. He then resettled himself on the stool made of carved wood, pulling one leg over the other, getting into a comfortable position.

"I would like to request that we send out a group of warriors beyond our stretch of the forest."

His eyes narrowed. "You need a good reason for asking this. You know we have to have the warriors protecting our camp; the mothers are left defenseless without them."

I nodded. "I understand and think this is a valid cause to send them off."

He paused before sighing in consent. "Continue then, Rhian."

I took in a deep breath, "We have all seen the signs of it, but I believe something is either affecting our magic or killing it off. We need to find the source of whatever is making it impossible for us to channel our magic and destroy it." I paused and glanced away for a moment. "I don't want another person. I don't want anyone in our village to have to grieve because our magic decided that it didn't want to work."

The only thing I'd been able to say before now was the owl was what killed Heliyah, so my voice was shaky as I continued. "My _alikhan_ was killed not because the charm wore off too fast and we weren't able to fly away in time, but because no matter how we angled our wings or tried to reflect light through them, it wouldn't work. Magic _failed_ when I needed it most, and when Heliyah did as well. We need to find the source of whatever is doing this and crush it so that our people will be safe." I paused and looked into his eyes. "Please, honor this request, honored leader."

Our leader stood up and let light beam through his wings, though it wasn't aimed at me or anyone in particular. Instead, he just rested there for a moment, thinking. I hoped with all my heart that he would see reason in what I said and _act-_

"No."

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes went wide. "Wh-what do you mean no? We need to protect the rest of our kind, the Strig, and the future of our people. The only way to do it is to find the source of this and destroy it."

He shook his head. "I understand you're still grieving," I nearly snapped back but caught myself. I was trying to help prevent others from having to grieve due to the same reason I grieved.

"But we just can't afford to send our warriors out on a mission like this, Rhian. We have no idea what is causing this, and we can't know how long something like this would take. There's too many risks and yes, it would help protect us all, but at the cost of how many lives? Again, we don't know why our magic stops working, so there's no point in trying to stop it until we figure it out."

I froze up, tears beginning to streak down my face again. "If we don't figure it out though, nothing will happen!"

He glanced away. "I know that, but I'm a leader. I have to choose what's best for all of our people, both in the short and long term. Sending the warriors away will only hinder us for a very, very long time."

I stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief and distrust. In a flurry of emotions, I burst out the exit, wings fully extended and flew out back to my house. I grabbed my own spear as well as Heliyah's and rested them on my bed as I rushed around the house. I found a small sack and packed some dried berries and meat I found around the house, as well as a change of clothing for myself, since I figured my regular hunting leathers would be worn down over time.

One I put the sack on and made sure it wouldn't interfere with my flying, I grabbed the two spears and flew out into the darkened night sky.

I flew for as long as I could, only stopping when I finally felt that my wings could no longer carry me. Then I walked, until my legs couldn't carry me either. Then, lay down at the base of a tree and pulled the bag over my head. I pulled out a handful of berries and numbly chewed them as I simply rested where I was. I had no idea Where I was currently headed, but I had to start _somewhere_. If my people weren't going to fight for their lives, then I would. I would find the source of our ever-weakening magic and I would destroy it myself.


	4. Chazkrik

_**Two updates in a week? What has the world come to?! Lol sorry, Masked Demise here. Kinda felt bad leaving you guys with such a short chapter, so I'll continue here. Most of this chapter is a flashback, but it provides some insight into what a Strig's childhood is like: carefree and relaxed (for the most part at least). Anyways, here's your dose of "How much can Demise screw with Rhian!"**_

I kept going for what seemed like forever, stopping only when I needed to, mostly to hunt or rest. I had food on me, but while I was in the forest, I could hunt and I didn't want to waste what I had that could be preserved. So everyday, I took my spears and roasted what I could over a fire. I wasn't as good of a cook as the mothers from the village, but it was sustenance: what I needed to get by. After about a week, I decided my body needed a break, so I began searching for a river that I had passed a few days back. I had a canteen with me that I had filled then, but now I wanted the river again, though not just for water. I held my spears against me as I flew up into the brightness of the sky, which made it far easier to spot.

It was at the edge of my vision, though I knew I could spare the time to get to it, so I did so, checking the area for any potential threats while moving towards the river. I spotted nothing beneath the trees, but I could hope my magic could work as well. It had only been faulty maybe once or twice while hunting, but it had been rather useful as I trekked my way through the forest. I landed at the banks of the river, and set the spears carefully against a rock the rested nearby. I set my bag on top of it as well and picked my way towards the water.

I was absolutely covered in blood, sweat and dirt from my travels. Most of the blood was from the prey I had caught, though my feet had begun bleeding the second day I was walking. It still stung a bit, but I had a mission to complete, so I was willing to ignore it. As I stepped into the river and the cool water began to cover me, I nearly sighed in relief. The feeling of water running against me was nice, especially the memories brought with it.

" _Come back!" a voice called from behind me as I zipped through the water, laughter bubbling up to the surface._

" _Make me!" I taunted, as one of the older children sighed and began swimming after me. It might have even been Evert, but at the time, I was insistent on being the fastest youngling in the lake. I knew that that night was time for us to receive the new children from the adults, but swimming around, avoiding everyone else was far more fun._

 _It took several of the children to catch me, though I didn't mind: I found it far too fun. By the time they had me under control yet still grinning, the moon's reflection rippled back and forth on the surface of the lake. If we really wanted to, we could peek our heads out of the water for a few moments to see the real thing, the one the adults looked to each night, though I think we all prefered watching this rippling, wavering moon that seemed to shimmer in the currents of the water._

 _Several of us had begun watching the moon as we munched on freshly caught fish, simply caught by us swimming after it. A few lucky children had caught some shrimp, and I even saw someone with a crab, though I preferred the fish. It had a sort of sweet taste to it. As we continued to sit there, however, a dark form suddenly eclipsed the moon, making the water go dark. No one was panicked by it though, as we knew our time had come._

" _Who's turn is it?" One of the children asked._

" _I went last time!" Another chirped._

" _I thought the youngest went next!"_

" _You already went, Mythasia."_

" _I… thought no one noticed," The girl huffed._

" _I think it's Rhian's turn," Someone chimed._

 _I wasn't going to turn it down, and to be honest, it was my turn, though I much rather watch than actually participate in the ceremony. To participate was an honor, though that would mean I would have to watch over the eggs for the next few days, until they hatched, which I wasn't entirely keen on._

 _All eyes turned to me and I rubbed the back of my head. "I'll go. It is my turn," I laughed somewhat awkwardly._

" _Good luck!" A child called._

 _I smiled and gave no response as I swam off at a much more leisurely pace than I had earlier in the morning. My long black hair moved like a wraith alongside me, making me smile even as it covered my face._

 _Eventually, I reached the center of the lake, where the ground began to slope up to the surface. I saw a boat docked near it, the source of our disappearing moon. Fire danced above the water, where I was supposed to meet the adults. Behind me, I knew there would be a gathering of other children who came to see the new eggs as they were passed to me. I shook my head, refusing to focus on it as I let myself sink to the bottom of the lake and walk along the ground, slowly moving up the slope. I shivered in anticipation as I grew ever closer to the surface._

 _Finally, I reached the surface and took in a gasping breath before I went out completely. I couldn't breathe this air, no matter how badly I wanted to right now. I simply couldn't, and I couldn't embarrass myself by passing out on the surface. The air was so cold too, which wasn't helping. I could feel the water as it dripped from my hair, which lay flat against my back. I quickly moved along the sand of the isle, towards the flames._

 _Several mothers rested in front of the fire, a single, yet quite large, yellow egg. It glistened in the pale moonlight, and I nearly gasped for air as I bowed to the women. The one in the center nodded to me as I bowed, and I quickly reached for the egg. I slowly worked my way towards the water, ignoring my urge to run with my unsteady legs, not quite used to the pull that made me want to fall over in a tumble. I wished I could move as quickly as I could underwater, but that would have to wait until I was older. I cradled the egg against my chest as I dove into the water like a kingfisher. As I hit the water, I took in several rapid breaths, finally able to breathe again._

 _I heard several cheers as I swam back towards our small 'camp' if you could even call it that. It was just several beds made of soaked reeds and kelp, though I ignored them. I instead headed towards a small underwater cave, and pressed the egg gently into a corner, wrapping it in some kelp. I lay next to it, closing my eyes._

 _A few days later, I felt the egg shift next to me. I immediately blinked awake, and pushed myself away from it, giving it space. As the minutes passed, a girl with pale blonde hair, almost white, slowly emerged from the egg. She almost immediately fell asleep, but my job was done for the most part. I carefully picked her up, cradling her in my arms, and brought her out for everyone to see. All of the other children cooed and coddled her, though I smiled._

 _We had a theory that the eggs we hatched, we would become the_ Alikhan _of one day. No one knew if it was true or not, though I would like to believe that it was._

As I finally snapped back to reality, I realized tears were streaming down my face, though I was uncertain as to why. Maybe I was reflecting, trying to remember who it was that had hatched me, though a part of me that still grieved didn't want to remember. I shook my head and dunked it under the water, wiping away the grime with my hands. I was on a mission and I couldn't afford to daydream. I needed to just let myself rest for this moment so that I could regain strength.

I rubbed everything off of myself that I could before sighing and returning to the bank. Water dripped from the clothes that I wore, as well as my wings. I wouldn't be able to fly for a while, but I could wait for them to dry. I could walk still too. I grabbed my bag and slung it over one shoulder, too lazy to put it on properly. I grabbed the two spears and trudged onwards.

Birdsong echoed cheerily through the trees as I walked along the ground. Sunlight didn't quite reach all of the ground and most of it was filled with shadows that gave me a slight feeling of unease. I shook it off though and continued on, still uncertain of what I was looking for. Maybe I'd find an orb of pure magic, or maybe a mage that was hoarding all magic for himself. Either way, I was going to help the Strig and protect them by releasing magic once more. I shifted my wings, letting them catch the air around me and trying to get sunlight to warm them, but it was a bit hard to do so while they were wet.

I heard a rustling from the branches above me and froze up. I held the two spears in a fighting position, though as I waited, all I saw was a squirrel dash down a trunk and away from me. The unease I felt from before wasn't going away either, though I wasn't certain why.

As I reached the edge of the dense patch of forest and the beginning of a clearing, I heard the whine of something behind me. I quickly turned, bringing up Heliyah's spear.

A sword wreathed in shadow narrowly missed my head as it bounced harmlessly from the spear. A man had emerged from the shadow of a tree. His blade seemed to whisper in the wind as he hissed in anger at missing me.

"Who are you?" I hissed at my attacker as he dived at me once more. I blocked with my own spear this time and struck forward with the other.

He offered no response as He jumped back to avoid my attack. I couldn't afford to be hit by him, and I couldn't fly away, nor charm this strange person due to my wings still being wet. He was strange, with no wings of his own, nor scales, fur, or even a tail. It seemed almost plain, yet he dove at me yet again.

I moved to the side, bringing out one of the two spears in a jab. He turned his blade to hack at my left hand. I noticed a moment too late, and I was only able to move it a bit as he tore into my arm.

I let out a wail of pain, as I dove at him once more. I might have been fast and quick on my feet and had an extra weapon to attack with, but this man was trained to fight. He simple moved around my spear, using his sword to deflect it, and knocked me out with it's pommel.

When I woke again, I found myself behind a row of bars, blood caked to my arm where it had been slashed. I nearly groaned from the pain that suddenly rushed to me but I managed to reduce it to a moan. My bag and spears were nowhere to be found, which caused my breathing to speed up in a panic. Where had Heliyah's spear gone to? Where was I, and what happened after the fight?

I moved to roll over, but instead ended up screaming in pain. I had been tossed on top of my wings haphazardly, and they were crumpled beneath me. Tears flowed quickly down my cheeks as I lay on my stomach, trying to recover from the intense waves of pain coming from my back. I needed to get up, so I bit down hard on nothing and began to move.

I slowly stood up, letting my left arm hang limply as I did so. I felt the ground shake and I nearly cried out. I was in a cage, dangling over a chasm, hundreds of feet over the ground, my wings injured and nowhere for me to go. I was trapped and flightless, and totally, utterly alone.


	5. Papiyo nsu Lilyana

_**Hello, Masked Demise here. I don't want to bother with a long-winded author's note, so here's the chapter. Enjoy!**_

* * *

A howling echoed through the cavernous room, rattling my cage and forcing me to grab the bars, clutching them desperately. I had no idea how sturdy this cage was, and I definitely didn't want to fall into the endless beyond that stretched out beneath me. I could see other cages in the distance, but I was too far away to try to see if anyone else was inside this prison of sorts.

I never fully calmed down; who could in this situation? I was locked in a cage, hundreds of feet over the ground in a place you've never known, with your only means of protection destroyed by carelessness of someone who didn't know any better. Though, thinking about it, if it was the man who had beat me in our little 'duel' that had brought me here, he most likely would have broken my wings anyways.

I managed to mentally ground myself somewhat in spite of the fear that continually lingered in the edges of my mind. I noticed a spiraling wooden pathway on my other side, which is how that shadow-man had to have brought me up and put me into the cage. There were no guards to be seen anywhere in the prison, but also, no way out. They had left nothing with me except my clothes and I couldn't even see where the lock was that kept me in this hanging cell.

With moving causing me waves of unending pain, and having nowhere to go in the first place, I simply sat, letting my wings hang limply behind me. I knew they would heal with time, but not in such a cramped space as this. I needed one of the Strigian healers too, but I was too far away to return home, even if I could get out of this cell somehow. And who's to say they wouldn't be mad for my sudden leaving? For all I know, they would exile me the moment I showed up for deserting the village and coming home empty handed. They probably wouldn't even treat me before kicking me out. So I might as well be as flightless as a caged bird for all the healing that I would get from them. With no other choice, I resigned myself to sitting in my cage.

Time seems to pass so slowly when you have nothing to do and no one to talk to. I dozed in and out of consciousness, though how much time I spent asleep was impossible for me to tell. I couldn't see the sun, and the only light came from torches stationed on the wall. I couldn't tell how they didn't burn out ever, so I only could assume that they were magically fueled.

I knew my condition wasn't getting any better, especially since I hadn't seen food in days; if someone was supposed to feed me, they were certainly shirking their duties. My arm had grown far worse over time, now it was a bright red and incredibly puffy. I couldn't tell entirely, but it seemed to be filled with a liquid, though I couldn't see it very well. Whenever I was awake, I was dizzy and cold and had to lean my head against the harsh metal bars of the cage, as I was unable to work up the energy to make myself sit up. Everything ached now, not just my wings, which the pain of had dulled over time. I couldn't entirely tell if that was a good or bad thing. I heard a rattling in the distance, though I wasn't certain of what entirely was going on. I couldn't get my eyes to focus and I even if I could, I doubted whatever was going on was close enough for me to see.

I heard voices, suddenly, though I couldn't exactly tell from where. Everything was a haze and and I closed my eyes as I felt a warm hand grab my limp body.

"I thought we had gotten everyone out when we followed your plan the first time," Rakan huffed, though a grin remained on his face. A thin, pasty, pale form rested on his back, dragonfly wings jutting out at awkward angles from the body.

"As had I, but clearly we hadn't. I feel for her, she was alone and clearly injured before they brought her in. Look at her arm," Xayah replied, pointing to her puffy arm. It was oozing a sickly yellow liquid that clearly should not have been there.

"I know, _Miella_. I just hope we find someone who can help her," pity flashed in his voice, despite not wanting to show it. "Worse case is that we'll have to try to heal her ourselves."

"I would like to get her to her tribe to heal her, but the issue is I've never seen a Strig this far out before. What was this girl doing? I know we found her weapons, but…" Xayah shook her head. "Let's just get her to somewhere safe for now. Then we can help her. I don't think she'd survive a trip back to her tribe."

"Alright."

With that, the two feathery forms quickly dashed out of the Puboe Prison, two spears resting against one's back, a girl straddled across the other's.

" _Rhian, wake up, "_ an all too familiar voice called to me.

I startled at the voice, then suddenly opened my eyes and was greeted with a bursting of light. Everything was too bright for me to focus on, all but one figure that stood just within arm's reach. Her dark skin was all too familiar as well as the violet eyes that burned into my chest. "H-Heliyah?" I stuttered, as I stared at my _Alikhan_.

She smiled faintly and walked forward, giving me a hug. " _You need to wake up._ "

I paused. "Why would I? We're together again, at last. I don't have to continue on this journey. I can be united with you once more, Heliyah."

She shook her head. " _You can't, Rhian. You need to keep going on. I know my student would never give up like this; she's far too strong for this._ "

"But…" I hesitated, tears welling up in my eyes. I knew what seeing her here and now meant, and even if it meant this, I didn't want to be seperated from her. Why was she insisting on me leaving her?

She gave a warm smile. " _Save us all, Rhian. Bring back our magic and the-_ "

When I woke again, tears were streaming down my face, though I couldn't remember the reason why I was crying, no matter how desperately I tried to. I knew it was something important, but I couldn't catch the dream that escaped my grasp.

After a moment, I realized that I wasn't in the cage anymore, and someone had set my down on my stomach, letting my wings stick up. I was incredibly grateful for it, but whether it was on accident or done purposefully, I didn't entirely know. What I did know, though was that grass was far more comfortable than steel bars.

" _Mieli_ , she's waking up," a female voice called out. It was one I didn't recognize, yet I felt as though she was safe, compared to whatever was going on in that prison cell. That was not including the fact that she used the old Vastayan tongue, calling her lover. Even I could recognize that.

"Be right there, _Miella_!" A male voice called, cheer evident in his voice. I heard the grass rustling as the man approached and I slowly tried turning over.

"I don't think that would be in your best interests, young Strig." The female voice declared, though not harshly. "Your wings are still healing, though we've mostly cured the infection in your arm."

I paused. My arm had gotten infected? I couldn't remember much outside my haze. She seemed to be concerned about my well-being though. She even knew what kind of Vastayan I was, which was unusual. We could be a bit hostile to other Vastayan tribes, though I was uncertain why, other than to protect our territory. She had to have been well traveled to know that, though. "Who are you?" I asked in a rough, dry voice.

"She speaks," the male voice laughed, but was quickly met with a smack from what I could only assume was the female from the "OUCH!" that followed.

"Don't tease her!"

"Sorry…" he replied sheepishly.

I heard a rustling, then a sigh. "Sorry about him. I'm Xayah and this is-"

"I'm Rakan!" the man responded without letting Xayah finish. I heard a huff of irritation from her as he continued. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." Despite being unable to see him, with that cocky sound in his voice, I could almost imagine him doing a flourish as he said those words.

I slowly lifted my head to try to look up at them, though only the woman, Xayah, was in front of me. The dark red and purple feathers of her cloak were magnificent against the dark tree she leaned against. She seemed at ease, holding a few of her own feathers in her hand loosely. Clawed bird-like feet dug into the ground, but she leaned forward as I looked up at her. She was a Lhotlan. Not many of them came near, though I had seen a few pass through the forest. Xayah studied me for a moment, then, "We told you our names, so what's yours?"

"I'm Rhian. I assume you two got me out of that… place?"

She nodded, a look of slight disgust on her face, though I could tell it wasn't directed at me by the faraway look in her eyes. "Puboe Prison. Nasty place. How'd you end up in there at all?"

"I… don't remember. I was bathing in a river, and then went to continue on my journey, when this man just appeared. I fought him with my spears-" I cut myself off as my eyes went wide. "Do you have my spears?" I asked in a panic, suddenly realizing that they could have been left behind. I didn't mind my spear as much, but losing my _Alikhan's_ would be a harsh blow.

She smiled faintly. "We do. I know enough about Strigians to know that they probably both belonged to you. We'll give them back when I trust that you're well recovered, continue with your story."

I wanted to correct her, though there was no point to it. She'd probably still see as mine at this point, so I resumed speaking. "That was pretty much the end of it," I admitted sheepishly. "I lost, he slashed my arm, then knocked me out with his sword. I don't really remember anything after that, other than the panic of losing my spear and dozing in and out while in the cage."

Rakan whistled, "Sounds very eventful. Sorry 'bout the arm. I'm sure you'll be up and kicking again if you're anything like Xayah."

The woman snorted. "Her wings have to recover first, so I doubt she'll be running off anywhere anytime soon."

I huffed. "Are they that bad? I know they hurt like hell, but I was hoping it felt worse than it actually was."

Xayah glanced behind me and sighed. "I haven't touched them, because I knew it would probably hurt if I did so, not to mention you were out cold. They're at such an awkward angle, I don't know how to fix them. Not right now at least. The best I can do is try to straighten them, though I don't know how well it will help. We've been giving you some of Rakan's feathers, but…"

"We don't know how far their healing will go," he finished, slight disappointment edging his voice.

I winced at the thought of being unable to fly, unable to use magic again either. "Straighten them." I declared.

"Are you sure?" Xayah asked, sounding wary.

"I am. I'd rather have a chance then not even try and lose them."

Xayah nodded. "I can't promise it won't hurt, but I will do my best to hurt you as little as I can. You seem strong though, Rhian."

I knew I was weak, though I didn't bother to correct her as she got up and walked out of my field of vision. I braced myself for the pain, though it was nothing compared to what I was expecting. I heard a splitting shriek as all sorts of colors flashed in my eyes. It took a few moments to realize that the shriek was my crying in pain as Xayah set the wing. The whole process seemed to take an hour, but it couldn't have been more than five minutes. By the time she was done, I was panting and my throat ached. I longed for water and something to eat, but I was also in too much pain to bother considering it.

I just lay on the ground for a while, pressing my face into the soft grass, tears streaming down my face from the pain. After a moment, I heard a sound, then felt the grass shift as one of the pair placed something next to me.

"Soup," Xayah explained. "You need some strength at least. You're far too weak, not to mention you were and still might be sick."

I blinked a couple of times, but slowly looked up. A small wooden bowl rested next to me, and I could see steam rising from it. My mouth watered, and suddenly Xayah was helping me slowly sit up. She couldn't exactly lean me against a tree due to my wings, but she leaned me against a pack of supplies. I grabbed the bowl with my hands and inhaled the earthy yet heavenly scent. I could see a fire with a pot near it now, most likely where the soup was from. "Thank you," I murmured as I pressed the bowl to my lips and drank the broth.

After I finished the broth, I picked out the vegetables and meat to slowly chew them. At some point while I ate, Rakan had curled up with Xayah, their cloaks wrapped around each other, mingling violet with gold. He was handsome, even I could tell that, but I was somewhat certain that he had eyes only for Xayah, not that I would've taken him from her. From the way they leaned into each other, I could tell that they were whispering sweet nothings to each other. I heard a soft laugh from Xayah as she rested her head on his shoulder. My face flushed a bit and I turned away, feeling like I was intruding.

Xayah must have noticed though, as she asked, "What brings you so far away from home, Rhian?"

I winced and looked back to her. Rakan seemed intrigued for a moment, though he quickly was lost to his feathers that glistened in the golden light of sunset. "I lost my _Alikhan_ , if you know what that is to us. My mentor basically," I clarified. "Her magic stopped working while she was attacked and I couldn't save her.

"I tried to convince our leader to send out a group of us, to try to find what made our magic fail. I don't want this to happen to anyone else in my tribe. I don't want them to feel this, this _pain_ that haunts me. It doesn't go away no matter what I try.

"The leader, believed that trying was a lost cause though, since we have no idea what causes it. I… slipped out in the night and began travelling to find it." I glanced away from her, towards the distance. After a moment, I was able to meet her gaze again. "I've been traveling since, though I'm still uncertain of what I'm looking for. Maybe some mage, hoarding our magic for himself, I don't know."

Xayah looked to Rakan to look for some sort of confirmation, though he was still lost in thought. I didn't think it had anything to do with my story though. She seemed to consider her words. "I don't want to give you any false hope, but what's Rakan and I have been doing," she motioned to her partner, "is freeing magic. Occasionally we assists in prison breaks, but mostly we work on freeing wild Vastayan magic from the humans. If it's directly affecting you like that, there might be a crystal near your home. You could assist us on a few missions once you're healed… it might help you figure out what to do."

Hope fluttered in my chest, and my eyes widened. "If it'll help, I will. Of course I will. Please let me."

She gave a small smile, "Heal first, then we'll see what we can do for you. Rakan might have to teach you some of his moves; I don't think you actually know how to fight, despite how you grew up. You trained with your spear, but not to fight, correct?"

I gave a sheepish laugh. "I was a hunter for my tribe. I brought home food, but I didn't exactly fight."

She considered this for a moment, then gave a grin. "That's fine. Rakan and I will teach you to fight. You'll be the hunter, our enemies, your prey."


	6. Mostolahrv

_**Hey guys, Masked Demise here once more! Sorry for not updating last week, I had finals to do and I definitely didn't get caught up in playing Uno and 'What do you Meme' I promise. Okay... maybe I did but that's besides the point. Anyways, I hope that the length of this chapter will help make up for that. With this chapter, I finally present to you the theme that I've had for Rhian this whole time. You can listen to it for the whole chapter or even just part of it, though I recommend it. It's called 'Mirage' by Lindsey Stirling. You'll listen to it at one more point in the this story, but I deeply believe it fits my little dragonfly. Well, enjoy this chapter and I'll see you all next time.**_

"Come on, you gotta keep up with the birdbrain, little bug!" Xayah called, a smirk plastered to her face.

"Who are you calling a birdbrain?!" Rakan replied, no less amusement coming from him as he danced his way around me, as I attempted to land a single jab at him with the back of one of my spears. I held them in reverse, so that if I did manage to hit him, he wouldn't be injured, but I seemed to have worse aim at a moving target than I thought. I'd come nowhere close to landing a single blow, even with a week of practicing against him and Xayah. I also had no idea at what point she had taken it upon herself to call me little bug. It started at some point earlier in the week, but I still don't remember at what point. It seemed to have always been.

Even with how bad sparring with Rakan was, working with Xayah was no better if I was being honest. Whenever I did, I had Rakan with me, showing me how to dodge and whip through the whirlwind of a battle, but while I always ended up with cuts along my arms and legs from the quills Xayah would toss, he was always untouched and showing off that cocky grin of his.

On the bright side though, I had recovered almost completely, other than my wings. I didn't like being grounded, but with how well I had recovered otherwise, I had no space to complain. Xayah would check my wings every day and insisted that they would heal with time. I didn't know if it was to make me feel better, or if it was a definite truth, but it worked to raise my morale. All the fighting? If anything it made me want to give up and go home.

"Rakan, Xayah," I panted after letting attempting to land one more blow. It missed by almost a foot as the Charmer span around and ended up behind me somehow. "Can we take a break, please? We've been going for a while now, and I still am no better than I was when we started out."

"Land a blow on him, then we can rest," Xayah stated smoothly as she rested her head on her knees.

"I haven't landed a single hit on him in the last week we've been practicing."

"Isn't that _why_ we're practicing?"

I nearly hissed as I readied my stance once more and jumped away from Rakan to start again, from a new position. Xayah's logic was sound, but it didn't make me feel any better, so I turned my attention back to Rakan. He seemed to not be paying attention, and admiring his own feathers, but I knew better, that the moment I went to strike, he'd end up somewhere else, eternally dancing away from me. I wanted to use my magic to hold him in place, but I still couldn't activate my magic because of my damaged wings. If he would just stay still, hesitate even, I could maybe land something. The thing was though, that Rakan didn't hesitate at all, ever. He was so confident in every movement he made. It was almost as if his wild magic allowed him to connect all of his motions like water and slink away. Even though I knew this, I dove forward with both of my spears extended. As he dodged out of the way yet again, I realized something. I was aiming for where he was, not where he was _going_. Then, I would hesitate as I tried to figure him out. I couldn't do that. I needed to keep moving and _strike-_

I whirled on my feet and struck right before he landed. His eyes widened in surprise, and he moved again, but the end of my spear brushed against a single golden feather of his cloak. From the edge of my vision, I could see Xayah's eyes gleam with amusement. It seemed as if I'd finally figured out what she wanted me to.

I stuck at the Lhotlan again, this time aiming at an angle he had been dancing off towards. I grinned as he had to redirect himself halfway through the dodge, and I could see a grin creeping up on his face. He began to move around me and this time, it truly became a dance. I would strike, and Rakan would whirl around me, though I knew if it was anyone other than my current partner, they would have been beaten by the ends of my spears long ago.

We continued this dance, this time, my motions blending together like the dance that Rakan had been performing. Even if I was holding my spears backwards, he would sometimes use his cloak to deflect any spears that got too close, as our motions began to lead to me finally being able to take a true offensive instead of the uncertain one I had previously.

After several minutes more, Rakan finally called it quits, and we stopped for some food. Xayah mostly left the hunting to me and while I didn't catch half as much as I normally did with my wings, it was still enough to feed the three of us.

We hadn't really gone far since they rescued me from Puboe Prison. It was far enough where the residents would have to actually put effort into coming to capture me again, not that Xayah and Rakan were going to let that happen, but it was close enough to still see. So, while we ate, I would stare at it, watching for that shadow-figure as Xayah and Rakan whispered sweet nothings to each other.

We simply sat around for a while, letting ourselves rest after eating. "I want to practice your dodging again," Xayah called to me. I turned towards her and flopped onto my stomach, still listening. "You've gotten better at offense, so we'll work on your defense. Rakan won't help you this time. I think my _Mieli_ needs a break." The Charmer opened his mouth to make a sharp reply, but Xayah simply threw her cape over his mouth, silencing him. She then continued, "I think, after we finish this training session, we'll start traveling to see if there's a way for us to show you to free magic for your own people. We would help you, but there's so many more people for us to help, and I think you'd try to convince us to stay with your tribe, little bug," she grinned.

I smiled, and adjusted my wings a bit, wincing as I did so. "I think you might know me too well, Xayah."

The rebel gave a grin of her own as she plucked several feathers from her cloak and examined them as they turned to blades. "What can I say? I'm good at reading people. Now, get up before I throw these feather daggers at a sitting duck."

"But she's not even a bird!" Rakan cried out in disbelief from behind her. At some point her cloak had fallen away from him, but I don't think Xayah minded all that much.

Xayah shook her head, a grin playing at her lips as I got to my feet. The moment I was up, she let loose a handful of blades, and I quickly moved out of the way, trying to get away, but one sliced at my arm and I groaned. Feathers might look and feel fairly soft, but when wielded by Xayah, they were sharper than steel. It, was… somewhat embarrassing to be cut by a feather.

"Little bug, please! I _know_ you can dance like Rakan does," she chided as she began to send out wave after wave of feathers, almost like a torrent, and called them back too, leaving almost no room for me to dodge. "You were almost there while you were playing with him earlier." She sat cross-legged on the ground, but even then, she was far more a devastating opponent than her _Mieli_.

As I watched the blades fly towards me, I took in a deep breath. I was hesitating again, and not letting myself flow through each movement. I needed to not hesitate. I needed to do as Rakan did. He might be a feather-brain at times, but he definitely knew how to perform a battle-dance. So I took in a deep breath, then exhaled as the blades raced towards me. As I exhaled, I allowed myself to fully relax and I began to move and I began to _dance_.

I heard the blades whistle through the air as I performed the dance, using the beat of the feathers whirring past me to keep up. I twisted and turned, bending my wings slightly to help, despite the sharp pain it caused. I performed my own dance, swaying in time to the feathers and breeze, letting it carry me around and through the mess of feathers. I could feel and almost hear the quiet humming of magic in my blood, almost as if I was able to activate it as I danced, though it wasn't quite the same as harnessing it through my wings. It was a song, however, that resonated deeply through my entire being.

I don't know how long I danced, but eventually I felt a hand on my shoulder and froze up, only to realize it was Rakan, who laughing so hard, he was having to hold his stomach with his other hand. "She stopped attacking you a while ago." His trademark smirk was there, though there was something in it that radiated pride.

I smiled, though it was slightly forced due to the fact that I was slightly embarrassed that I had just kept going. It had finally felt natural, and I suppose it was suppose to. I shifted my wings into a resting position slowly, still wincing as I did so.

"I think you've finally gotten that down as well, little bug," Xayah snorted as she got to her feet. She had a look of approval plastered to her face as she walked over to me and patted me on the back. "What did it take? Insulting you for not at least being as good as Rakan? I gotta remember that in case I have to work with someone that _isn't_ him."

Rakan walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "No one can compare to me, _Miella_ ," he teased as he planted a kiss on the top of her head, "You of all people should know that."

The Lhotlan woman laughed as she leaned against him. "That's true, _Mieli_." She shook her head and turned her attention back to me as I went to get my spears from where I left them by the cliff. It took me a moment to realize that she wasn't looking at me, but past me, towards Puboe Prison. A grin creeped across her face as she looked at the topmost part of the prison, specifically, the five blood red crystals that circled lazily around the top.

"Let's take a field trip to Puboe Prison once more, shall we?"

* * *

Being outside of the bars of my hanging cage definitely did not make the prison any more pleasant. The halls were musty and the whole place was covered in a layer of dirt and, in some cases, blood. It made me shiver to think that I had been held captive here only a few days ago.

It took us a day to come back to the prison, and before we entered, Xayah wrapped my wings with cloth to protect them while we infiltrated the prison. The place was still incredibly creepy and the stone was cold on my feet, making me shiver. I held both spears in my hands, this time though, I was holding them properly, tips pointed away from me. Heliyah's obsidian spear rested easily in my left hand, my bone spear in my right. We had one goal: to destroy the crystals and get the hell out before the building collapsed.

Xayah was slightly upset now that my wings still wouldn't work quite right, as this job would be over in a minute if they did. I could simply fly up and just stab them according to her, but I wasn't so certain how that would work. I felt like they would break my spears, but Xayah insisted that they wouldn't. She did believe though, that the moment we destroyed them, the building would collapse, so she formulated a plan.

She was far better of a strategist than I would've pegged her for, and she even took into account Rakan's wandering mind. "When I throw a golden feather up into the air, that means you come," he seemed to grasp that much before his mind began to wander once more, though she didn't seem to mind as she continued relaying the strategy to me. Currently, our goal was to not get caught as we made our way to the highest point of the prison while Rakan distracted anyone who found us. She knew he didn't remember that, but she figured it would happen anyways, so the two of us quickly slipped through the walkways, climbing up and up.

The two of us passed dozens of cages, strung up like the one I had been held in. I didn't want to look, to see if I could find blood or any sign that I had been in any of them, so I kept my eyes on the narrow wooden path as I climbed up, sticking close to Xayah. To our surprise, and relief, we didn't run into anyone on our climb up. Once we climbed onto the roof of the prison though, there were guards that Rakan hadn't been able to distract, seeing as how he was still somewhere near the depths of the prison. "You ready, little bug?" Xayah asked, a grin on her face.

"Ready as I'll ever be, Xayah," I responded coolly.

"Then let's dance, shall we?"

The two of us swept into motion, joining together in a battle dance. These men were so much easier to fight than Rakan and Xayah had been. Arrows whirred past me, so much slower than Xayah's feathers had been, but I dodged them all the same. I jabbed forward with my spears, sending them forward, impaling men like I would a rabbit or deer. I was the hunter, and these men of shadow, my prey. As I dueled a man who was particularly bad about just falling to my spear, I called to Xayah, "Are we fighting rats or warriors?"

She laughed, "You're no better at keeping your mind on task while fighting than Rakan is, though that is a good question." I saw her recall feathers from the bodies of men resting all around us, and she began to use them to fight once more. As I danced and whirled through the men, jabbing at them and ending them as I did so, I felt that stirring of magic once more. I still couldn't activate my magic no matter how badly I wanted to, but I was fine. For now, what the two Lhotlans had taught me was enough.

Finally, that shadow man appeared. This time, I was able to see as he materialized _from_ the shadow, first his head, then his chest, waist, legs, then feet emerged slowly, like he was rising out of water.

At first Xayah was slightly stunned, but then she looked outraged. "I thought I killed you!" she snarled as her feathers returned to her once more. The man showed no sign of having heard her as, instead of a sword, he now raised a a gauntlet with twin blades pointing out of it. On his other hand was a similar gauntlet, though if there were any differences to it, I wouldn't be able to tell, as he had clothed himself in shadow once more before dashing forward.

He didn't seemed at all threatened by the two of us, but he chose to aim for Xayah first. "Get the crystals, Rhian!" she called out as she began to fight, slowly retreating back the way we had came. She used my real name instead of my nickname, and I knew that she was actually probably in trouble for once. "I'll hold him off and escape, I have Rakan, just get them!"

I quickly began climbing my way up, using my spears to help balance myself. Wind rushed past me, and normally that would've filled me with adrenaline, I usually love the feeling, but without my wings it left me in fear. I tightened my grip on my spears and gasped as I watched the magic crystals.

They were slowly pulling mana out of the air, turning it to blue light and absorbing it into their deep, endless blood red. The sight stunned me, but I knew this was what was happening to the magic of my own people. It was being sucked up and absorbed into whatever _this_ was. Why they would contain our magic, why they would store it up like this, I had no clue, but I as I watched some of the mana shimmer away from my skin, I knew I couldn't let it continue. I hefted my spears and drove them into two of the crystals. When nothing happened, I thought I had done something wrong, though my spears had pierced the stones like they were nothing more than a rabbit. I stabbed the next two as well, again to no avail, yet they had slid in and out just as quickly.

"Please work," I whispered, and pressed Heliyah's spear into the last, fifth crystal. As I did so, the five suddenly stopped their dance around the pinnacle of the prison. Veins of a brighter red started to stretch across them, going faster as they went along, until suddenly, they shattered into millions of sparkling fragments. I felt the building beneath me shudder, and I suddenly found myself running as I remembered what Xayah told me: that the prison would most likely collapse after I destroyed the crystals.

In the distance, I could see color returning the dulled forest, though beautiful, it was the least of my worries. I saw no one as I made my way down and out, clutching my spears tightly to avoid dropping them. In the edges of my vision, I saw rubble falling, but I refused to focus on it as I just kept running. A few months ago, my legs would've been too weak to do this, due to living in the water, but now they were strong enough to carry me as I fled this collapsing _helishiibog_. After a while, men, like the ones I had fought before began to run after me, though if they were chasing me or running from the collapse like I was, I wasn't certain.

When I finally got out, the building shook one more time before simply seeming to give up and let out a moan before completely falling apart. I felt a rush of wind, then watched as the spread of magic as it returned to the world. I nearly laughed as I let myself fall to the ground in relief. The grass was so soft… and comfortable I wanted to cry. We had succeeded. Though… I didn't know where Xayah and Rakan were. I shot up and began to search the area for them. When I didn't find them in the immediate area, I began to search the rubble.

Wind pressed against me as I quickly went over it, and suddenly I heard a laugh from beneath me. "Worried about us, little bug?" Suddenly, a burst of magic released from the rubble, causing it to collapse around two figures, an embracing Xayah and Rakan. "You seem to be doing much better to, flying and all."

I blinked as I realized that, while I had been going through the rubble at some point the cloth had fallen off of my wings and I had started flying over it to search for my mentors. I nearly laughed, almost cried out in joy, but I managed to restrain myself and allowed myself to drop on top of a large shard of building next to them. "My wings are…"

I didn't have to finish. They were healed, as much as they were going to at least. All that remained to show of the crumpled mess that they had been were streaks of white that stretched throughout them, and where color resided in them, the lines had faded the color ever so slightly. Other than that, they were as good as new.

Xayah smiled as Rakan pulled her towards him. I realized now that none of this phased them; this was a regular day for them, and I had probably been the most abnormal thing about this whole thing. "I don't mean to force you away," she started, "but I believe you need to do this for your people next. Return their magic to them, I mean."

Rubbing the back of my head, I nodded. "It's sudden, but I understand."

"You can always come back and join us after you help your people!" Rakan crowed, grinning once more.

I flushed. "I don't know. If I get to actually return to them, it'd be hard for me to come back. I love them, and they need me, I'm certain of it."

There was an understanding nod from Xayah. "The offer stands. We wish you luck though, I know it'll be hard, but with your wings flight back…" she grinned. "All of those _Azifraar_ will fear you."

I smirked at her choice of word, though Rakan seemed to have missed it. "It was nice meeting you, Xayah."

"You as well, little bug." She pulled a feather from her cloak and held it out to me. "Take it. It's basically the same gift I'd give a king," she held it out reverently. "So you'll remember the two of us."

I took it carefully. It wasn't sharp like all of her feathers that I had seen before. It was still very soft, and a beautiful shade of purple though. For a moment, I held it close to my chest, then I carefully attached it to my bone-tipped spear.

"Thank you Xayah, Rakan. I hope to see you two again, eventually."

"As do we."

As I walked away, tears began to streak down my face, but not tears of sadness. Tears of joy. I was going home, and I would help everyone. Finally, I knew that with my knowledge, no one would have to fall as Heliyah had.


	7. Peliagrian

_**I'm not gonna make up any excuses. Enjoy the chapter.**_

I didn't realize that the trip back home would be far easier than my journey away had been. Given, that was most likely because I now knew where I was going, and wasn't on a quest that might not reveal any answers, or yield no fruit. Xayah and Rakan had given me my task and what I must do, so in order to help my people, I needed to return home. The wind was favorable, blowing gently in the direction of the lake I knew so well, and the sun with it's gentle warmth, caressing my skin and warming my wings as I flew through the sky. Some of the warmth though, I felt was the fact that I knew I most likely had the favor of the Lhotlan tribe, due to Xayah and Rakan, and their implied request for me to rejoin them eventually. If my people didn't want me back, even with my help, I knew where I could go.

I had all of this going, but one thought remained in my mind, lingering, like the taste of bad food, refusing to leave no matter what happened. Heliyah. Heliyah. _Heliyah_. Everything I did, I could see her in, and a part of me kept longing for my _Alikhan_ , even though I knew I would never see her again. I kept imagining what she would think of the two Lhotlan I had befriended, what this mission would be like with her around. Just thinking of it now made my chest ache, and emphasized the loneliness I felt, up in the air, no one to speak to for miles. The pain strengthened, and tears began to fall, shimmering in the air as if the light could refract through them like it did with my wings, filled with magic and power. Despite it all, I kept on my path through the sky, finally lowering myself to the ground when I grew too tired to fly. I wouldn't make the same mistake I made in utterly exhausting myself by not stopping at all. I needed some strength should I be attacked.

Every night while I slept I slept and regained my strength, I dreamed of home. The dreams were different each night, but each had that same emphasis on the place I loved so dearly. In some of the dreams, I was welcomed home with open arms, magic restored and our people thriving with the restoration. In others, all of my people were gone, our home destroyed, and even the children of the lake miraculously missing. Yet, even in others, I found them, still there, but furious at my abandonment of the tribe, forcing them to suffer due to the loss of one of the few hunters our tribe had left. And even now, I dreamed of the screeches of birds, the screaming of the one I had loved as my sister, as she was ripped away from me so suddenly, disappearing like dew in the sunlight. I dreamed of my childhood under the rippling water, of stories of my people, somehow kept without us having any communication with those above us, of that small, small egg I had watched over and that girl, her pale hair rippling in the water.

When I woke up, stars began climbing up into the sky, bathing the outside of the cave I had chosen to rest in with their gentle light. I began to wonder of how I would complete my quest, where I would find the crystals that plagued my people and their magic. I considered hunting, but then rolled over and pulled some dried meat from my pack, and stared out at the stars as I began to chew on it. I was in no mood to hunt, even with mine and Heliyah's spears resting on the wall of the cave, perfectly clean and fine to use. For now, even if it was tough, my provisions I brought would be enough.

As I ate, slowly as to make sure that the tough meat went down properly, I felt a small gust blow, from deep within the dark abyss of the cave. But, with that wind, a recognized something that was unmistakable, carried by that gentle, cool breeze.

The scent of fruit, ripe enough to fall off the vine.

I was slightly confused by it, as there was no light. Just the scent that wafted through the air. It was an unusual scent to come across in a cave though, so I pulled my pack on, grabbed my twin spears, and ventured further into the cave. I had no more to protect myself; my magic wouldn't work in the cave's deep darkness, and I worried about my spear's effectiveness in the confines of the area. I could only hope I ran into nothing else on my way towards the scent.

It was a long, dark path into the cave, with only the gentle tapping of my feet against the ground, and the click of my spears against the wall to remind me that I wasn't wandering through some dark abyss, and was only in a cave. Just when I had made up my mind to turn back, a soft glow became visible from deeper in the cave. I quickened my pace and began running towards that glimmer that illuminated the rock before me. Once I broke through the light, I was not even slightly disappointed by the sight that greeted me.

The cave opened up into a gigantic open-sky cavern, letting the light of the stars color the area in an ethereal glow. It illuminated the leaves of the trees, giving them a pale sheen, like glistening emeralds. Heavy fruit barely managed to cling to the branches, causing them to droop low, almost touching the ground in some places. There were large flowers bloomed from the trees and all around, filling the whole area with wonderful, sweet scents that drew a small smile from my lips, and they seemed to drift towards me, bending at their stems in some invisible breeze. I spread my wings and let the moonlight filter though my wings. The life that grew in the area was beautiful, but I refused to let it fool me. Even the Strig had heard the stories of the Garden of Forgetting.

One of the favorites of an older girl that lived beneath the waves of the lake, one who had set her previous decisions to be a hunter aside, when she fell in love on the surface. The story told of the beautiful flowers, and of the Gardener who cared for it. The children all loved the descriptions, but I don't think any of us realized how powerful the Garden actually was ourselves. The scent of flowers was intoxicating and as I strode deep into it, I was enticed by the scent. I wandered over to a small pond, the surface covered with water lilies, then kneeled down, resting my weapons by the water. My wings trailed behind me, and the surface rippled as I waded in, only stopping when I reached one with a bright violet flower, reminiscent of Heliyah's eyes. I pushed my hands beneath the water, and lifted the whole lily, inhaling it's citrus-like scent.

Images of sunlight and warmth filled my head, and something snaked around my ankles. The visions were bright, happy, and absolutely wonderful. Taking span over decades, the water nearly never moved, but when it did, there was certain to be food to be found. I barely registered my body being pulled beneath the surface as the thought of fresh meat filled me with delight. The vision was cut off as a second form entered the water and killed 'us' and cut 'our' stem, severing the connection.

I was suddenly aware of the ache in my chest, my body screaming for air, and it took me a moment to realize that it was _me_ that was the food, the prey, that fresh meat that that filled my head. Before I could register even that, I began swimming up, up, _up_ in an attempt to save myself.

When I breached the surface, my vision was going dark, but nothing had prevented me from reaching it. I sputtered and cough, taking in gasping breaths whenever I could. From the vision the flower gave me, I knew there was someone else here, somewhere close enough to have cut the flower I had smelled. They seemed to have helped me, but now that I knew how dangerous this place really was, I didn't know how long their kindly demeanor would last.

My breathing steadied itself out gradually, and I began to search around the area. Sure enough, on the shore, a woman waited, water dripping from her red cloak. In her hands, an object with two blades, what I could only assume she used to save me from my watery fate. I slowly made my way to the shore, head slightly downcast. The woman, I knew, had to be the Gardener.

"A Strig," the woman mused, in a voice as well-ripened as the fruit. "It's been a very long time since I've seen one of your kind, though you should know how dangerous this place is. You could've died, _Iminha._ " Her face was young, smooth, like the fruit of her Garden, and her eyes, green like the leaves of the trees. The word she used, I recognized it, but couldn't place it as part of my own language. It was in the common tongue, I knew, the one I spoke with Xayah and Rakan, that Heliyah had struggled to teach me, yet I couldn't place the word.

"I'm sorry, _Minatreava_ , wise one." I kept my head down, in embarrassment or fear, I was uncertain. "Thank you for your help."

She nodded, and glanced off into the distance, towards a grove of trees, some with trunks thicker than the ones I knew from home. "Walk with me, will you?" She turned, and her cloak, though wet, swept behind her, barely disturbing even the grass.

With my wings wet, and fearing angering her, I followed the Gardener, hoping to get some sort of knowledge from her, even if, deep down, now that I was here, I knew what I wanted.

She seemed to know what it was too, as, not too long later she spoke. "What brings you here, _Iminha_? There's a reason for you being here." She turned her head, staring into me with her bright eyes. "I know the Strig know of this Garden. You knew the dangers, and what it was. What caused you to stay?" She paused, reaching a bench. The woman sat and motioned for me to join her. "Was it a lover? A quarrel? What makes you want to Forget?"

I sat down and took in a deep breath, even though I was now perfectly fine. I knew, I needed to help my people, but still, that one thought rested in my mind, the one that haunted me while I searched for a solution to our problem. Heliyah's death. I could still hear her shriek, even now and I clamped my hands over my ears. Even though I knew what the answer was, I struggled to tell her, my chest feeling, empty, yet like a knot at the same time.

The Gardener gently reached over and pulled my hands away from my face, some sort of sympathy on her face. "Speak. It'll do you good. Let yourself grieve, _Iminha_."

"My teacher, my mentor, my sister, my friend. She's gone," I whispered, finally voicing what had troubled me for the span of my journey. "I can't ever stop thinking about her. She died and I'm here… I should've gone instead of her. She shouldn't have left me. She was better than me at everything, she had a lover-" My breath caught in my throat, and I sputtered as tears began to fall down my face, illuminated like little stars in the moonlight. I explained what happened, and why I was so far from home. The Gardener listened, intently, her face giving away nothing of what she thought, of me or my situation.

When I finally finished, I looked down. "I miss her. But she haunts me, _Minatreava_." The sun began to rise, as evidenced by the shades of pink that tinged one side of the sky.

She waited a moment longer, then spoke. "She's the reason you left to find help, is she not?"

My head shot up and I stared the woman down. "What do you mean?" I struggled to get my words out, to question her. They remained caught in my throat so I just shook my head.

"You didn't leave until you saw what had happened. She was a… catalyst, if you will. Now, her loss has led you on to help the rest of your people, at any cost." She smiled, and though it wasn't meant to be unsettling, it was, whether due to her wording, or some other, sinister, hidden meaning.

"Without her loss you wouldn't have left, would you have, _Iminha_? You'd be content to hide away with the rest of your people, afraid of the rest of world. You wouldn't know that there was something more out there for you." She motioned to my pack and my spears, which I hadn't realized I had left, but she had somehow brought here. "You've met people who you would've never known. Seen what it is that you must face when you get back home. You've grown, _little one,_ and you've matured from the child you were, even if you still will always be one to those who will always be."

Heliyah. I had registered, but never realized the truth the Gardener spoke to me. I would never have met Xayah and Rakan. I wouldn't have seen what lay beyond the the forest, tasted the thrill of fighting. I would've never seen the crystal I now had to destroy to help those I loved.

"Thank you," I whispered. The flowers in the area seemed to lean in to listen as I spoke. "Thank you for opening my eyes to what I had missed."

The Gardener gave another one of her fierce, yet dangerously beautiful smiles, and I began to wonder what I should be more afraid of, this woman, or her garden. "Then go. You need nothing from here. Take fruit to nourish you on your journey home. It will not act as the flowers did. It seeks to attract, not take." She stood. "By the time you fill your pack, you're wings will have dried."

I went to argue on that fact, that it could take hours for them to, but I looked up and saw the sky, the sun a blazing ball overhead. More time had passed than I had thought. I nodded. "Thank you, _Minatreava_."

She nodded and got to her feet, not sparing a second glance at me as she disappeared into her Garden.


End file.
